PAX South show to premiere in San Antonio Jan. 23, 2015

At a panel at PAX East this morning, Penny Arcade founders Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins announced plans for PAX South, to be held for the first time in San Antonio from January 23 through 25, 2015.

The show is the fourth fan exposition to be put on by Penny Arcade since PAX started in 2004 as an informal gathering of about 3,300 people in a Seattle convention center. The franchise has since expanded to include Boston's PAX East, started in 2010, and Pax Australia, started last year. The two US shows now routinely draw upwards of 60 to 70,000 video, card, board, and role-playing game fans from around the world, with tickets selling out in a matter of hours each year.

"Since its launch in 2004, PAX events have doubled in size almost every year, and our Seattle and Boston events represent the two largest gaming festivals in North America," Penny Arcade Business Manager Robert Khoo said in a statement. "We've been hearing for years that those in the south had a tough time making it to the northern corners of the country; PAX South has always been a matter of 'when' rather than 'if.'"

Khoo previously teased the likely existence of a fourth PAX show in a tweet showing a mysterious countdown clock set for the US Central time zone, leading many to speculate on locations such as Austin or Chicago for the latest event. Convention management company ReedPOP will continue to put on all the PAX shows.

Penny Arcade and its related offerings have faced a fair share of controversy in recent years due to insensitive statements about rape and gender identity by Krahulik and Holkins, leading some to publiclyboycottthe PAX shows. "I really do believe we're done with these incidents," Khoo told Polygon in a recent interview. "We haven't heard exhibitors dropping out because of the controversy, but that's not to say it hasn't happened. Publishers drop in and out all the time, and with multiple PAXes throughout the year, they have more options to choose from."

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area.